Cat loose

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Bubblesmom2014

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i'm so sorry this is happening i understand this is frustrating you but dont give up dose she like fish canned tuna salmon or mackrel? if so that plus a dirty blouse sports bra socks or pillow case may help attract her to your traps but try only putting your scent in one trap leave one with just the food and with the finall one somthing that smells like your other cat if they like each other again i wish you luck and my heart goes out too you.

i know how you feel My Mignon has gotten out 3 times twice he went to our grage but the first time it took a teaser toy treats and a can of cat food to get him out from under the porch of an abandned house behind us, the second time he got out he was gone 72 hours longest time of my life as i raised him from 1 week supplementing his foster moms imlk with KMR as she had 6 of her own a week and a half older than him i looked all over the nebighorhood under the abandoned house at other cat friendly houses to no avail i even set out a live trap but finally i went to our grage and sat down in my grandfathers work chair and let out all my fear and frustration had a good cry then heard a soft sound in the rafters and called out i had the pet carrier out their already and several dirty pieces of my clothing dirty socks pillow case dirty bra and i looked up and meowed at him in our special way and he peeked out of the rafters i had neer been so happy to see his black abd white face those big golden eyes looking at me and i called out to him "OHH MIGNON"and he jumped down i put him in the et carrier and brought him back in , the ast time was i think probably the hardest you see before the feral colony here was either one r two cats or none the first time but this last time we had nursung females in the grage and he had fallen out the utility room windowwhch was right above my grandfathers bicycle junk pile of frames he couldnt fix not exactly safe well i wited about three hors affter he fell and took a bowl of food to the grage calling him as before he stuk his face over the rafters and jumped dow well m being me didnt think of bringing the pet carrer so when he jumped down to get nums the females atrated to hiss at him one went into nearly attack mode and i grabbed him uo kicking over the bowl of food so the ferals would focus on that and wrapping my arms around my boy as tightly as possible i carried him up our 40 foot drive way ad accrooss half of our 30 ft wide front yard(not easy as cars freak him out it took effort to keeop my hold as toght as i could so he didnt squirm away i had his scruff in one hand abd the other wrapped around his body supporting his booty as held it tght to my chest) to the door where i barely managed to get it open but did and let him go my arms were torn up ad bleeding my shirt had holes and my boobs were bloody but my boy was safe and i would do it again.

Question is she fixed? you metioned a spraying tom could be if shes not spayed shes looking for a den.
Yes she’s been spayed. Never had a litter of her own. That was the condition of my husband that she was spayed and I could keep her. I’m not planning on giving up on catching her. Not at all. We were supposed to move our mobile home up two lots to our original lot, but since she got out we put that on hold. As a matter of fact we have put all our plans for the summer on hold to catch her! I don’t believe it will hurt if we went ahead with our plans to move the trailer because we aren’t moving very far. Maybe 100 feet from where we are living now. And she’s been all over the property. Which includes where we are wanting to put the home. I have been using cat food, tuna, sardines, salmon and mackerel for bait. I have even used KFC chicken!
 
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Bubblesmom2014

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Do you think she would investigate sounds of kittens mewling? Sound will carry a lot farther than smell or sight so maybe that would be an easier avenue for attracting her?
I really don’t know. The problem is she’s not staying in one particular place she moves from place to place. I have almost 2 acres of land and we don’t know her hiding place. If I knew where she was hiding this wouldn’t still be happening. She would already be inside
 

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The longest Navi was gone was 26 days and when she was back inside her brother Link did not recognize her - or rather she smelled different to him. He hissed at her half-heartedly for a few days and then they were back to normal. Same thing happened this last time which was shorter (11 days?) but he was quicker to readjust. Once you have Bubbles back I would introduce your cats again as if it were the first time they were meeting. I'm sure there's a lot of info in these forums on how to introduce cats. I did some scent swapping which I think helped.
 

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I really don’t know. The problem is she’s not staying in one particular place she moves from place to place. I have almost 2 acres of land and we don’t know her hiding place. If I knew where she was hiding this wouldn’t still be happening. She would already be inside
Do you have time to just go out and sit in the shade in the evenings take a can of food and some treats and call her a few minutes then just sit down and read/wait for her give a]it a few minutes then open the can of food or tuna or what have you and call her again then just settle down and see o\if she wont come to you..this is all he advice i have to give and i wish you luck getting her furry lil but back home where it belongs.
 
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Bubblesmom2014

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Do you have time to just go out and sit in the shade in the evenings take a can of food and some treats and call her a few minutes then just sit down and read/wait for her give a]it a few minutes then open the can of food or tuna or what have you and call her again then just settle down and see o\if she wont come to you..this is all he advice i have to give and i wish you luck getting her furry lil but back home where it belongs.
I have tried sitting outside in the evening with a fire calling for bubbles and using cat food, tuna and what ever else I can think of. She stays hidden. It’s like something has her too frightened to come out. I know we have a few strays running around out here, and the other wildlife like raccoons are nuts this year.
 

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I know that everyone has suggested everything under the sun and you've been trying it all, so you're likely already doing this --- but I'll add: When you're out there, instead of calling for her, try to just talk in a normal voice like when you're having a calm chat with her inside or when you're talking gently to her when she's sitting on your lap. You'll feel like you're crazy talking to yourself but I think in your situation where your cat isn't inclined to come to you (like my Navi) it's better to not call out.
 
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Bubblesmom2014

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I know that everyone has suggested everything under the sun and you've been trying it all, so you're likely already doing this --- but I'll add: When you're out there, instead of calling for her, try to just talk in a normal voice like when you're having a calm chat with her inside or when you're talking gently to her when she's sitting on your lap. You'll feel like you're crazy talking to yourself but I think in your situation where your cat isn't inclined to come to you (like my Navi) it's better to not call out.
She’s not answering my calls anyway. And I have tried just talking to her in my normal voice. I have said before she has a hiding place and we don’t know where it is. If I had any idea where she was she wouldn’t still be outside I would have went and got her already. The last time she got out it was daylight and she ran away from me then as well and she could clearly see my face and know who I was. I literally had to chase her and cornered her then grab her by the nape of her neck like a kitten
 

sarah430

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I totally understand --- that's exactly how Navi acted. Even this last time she looked straight at me and still wouldn't come. And I bet that's how she'd act again if she got out.

I know you've tried EVERYTHING. Something will work. Don't give up hope! :grouphug:
 
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Bubblesmom2014

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@ sarah430 believe me I’m not giving up on catching my baby bubbles. I just can’t believe it is taking so long to catch her. Yesterday made 8 weeks she’s been loose! I’m still heartbroken that my grandson let her go even after being told not to hold the door open. Because he did is has cost me over 800 for a new door if it ever comes! And not to mention the money spent on the cameras and materials to make the traps because she won’t go into a live trap! She walks around them no matter what we put in them for her to eat! And then there’s my grandson not only letting my cat out but my son’s and my daughters cats as well! And not being punished for his behavior!
 

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Cats, unlike dogs and people, do not recognize people but face, but by scent. They are also very near sighted, about 20 feet clear and sharp. The return they get for this is excellant motion detection. She did not run from you, she did not recognize you only that a big person she didn't recognize because she couldn't smell them, chased her.
 
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Bubblesmom2014

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I was not chasing her I was trying to coax her back to me and I was plenty close enough for her to see who I was and smell me
 
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Bubblesmom2014

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Had to. I know she still loves me, I’m just having a really hard time catching her for some reason. I have tried everything everyone has suggested but it’s not working.
 

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I really thought sleeping in the backyard would help. I was remembering something I read on this site maybe last year. Can't find it now, of course, but here's what I remember. A member was trying to catch a feral/stray, but wasn't having much luck. He started by putting the food dish at a distance from the house then slowly moving it a foot closer to the house every night. This is the new thing -- He left the door to his backyard open, his other animals secured else where in the house. He sat in the same chair in the room to the side of the door every night. Gradually, with the food moving about a foot closer every night, the cat came closer to the door. He moved the bowl right inside the house. Then still moving at only a foot a night, he moved the bowl deeper into the house. Finally, when the bowl was across the room, he darted to the door and closed it.

This would take patience because you really can't rush it. It would take accepting that you might have to run a few other animals - raccoons out in the morning -- you wouldn't want to do that while feeding kitty at night because that would be frightening. But, I expect you've learned a lot about patience and discovered you have more than you ever thought you did.

If you do it for her breakfast you could move the bowl maybe 6 inches closer at breakfast. I'd still put the clothes I'd worn and bed sheets and towels out for her to check out and maybe curl up on.
 
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Bubblesmom2014

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Kflowers, I have tried everything under the sun for this cat. The only thing left for me to do is be patient longer and catch her in one of my home made drops traps. I have sat up all night every night for the past 8 weeks, my husband has literally had to drag me to bed to get some sleep. She has not kept a consistent schedule of when or where she is seen. One night she might be hunting for her food behind my house the next she might be behind our barn. With her moving around the property it’s hard to know exactly how to catch her. So I have come to the conclusion that I don’t have a choice but to rely on our home made drop traps.
 

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I'm so sorry to hear she isn't even coming near your door any more. I hope you find a way to catch her. Keep an eye out for professional humane trappers, I've seen them in some states, but know of none myself.
 
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Bubblesmom2014

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She hasn’t left the property so that’s a great sign. She knows where she is, it’s just the timing. She has avoided all the havaheart traps I think because she has seen other animals get caught and she’s afraid of them. And I WILL get her back. Like I said it’s just the timing of when she’s out and about and having the traps in the right places at the right time.
 
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Bubblesmom2014

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Bubbles update. Today makes two weeks since our last sighting of my beautiful baby girl. There had been a male black cat roaming around here spraying everything marking our yard as his territory! Once he started spraying and marking my yard as his territory bubbles moved from our yard to the neighbors property for hunting. We have relocated the black stray cat to the local human society to re home him. Hopefully now that he’s gone we will see bubbles around our yard again and will be able to catch her .
 

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If you have a black light and can find the spots he sprayed, you could spray over his spray with an enyzme 'cleaner" and dilute his scent/claim. Some people use white vinegar to dilute the scent/claim.
 
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Bubblesmom2014

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If you have a black light and can find the spots he sprayed, you could spray over his spray with an enyzme 'cleaner" and dilute his scent/claim. Some people use white vinegar to dilute the scent/claim.
Do you know how long the scent/spray will be there? I don’t have a black light or even know where to get one.
what if I just “cleaned “ the areas I seen him at?
 
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